Stórmerki
by ChrisTheWildfire
Summary: Only one year after the War's end, Berk's hero disappears without a trace, leaving everyone, including her loyal dragon, behind. Months later, she returns with new battle scars and secrets hidden behind her wary eyes. Fem!Hiccup. Male!Astrid. Slight violence and swearing.
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

**A/N:** Soo...some notes before we get started.

I do not own How To Train Your Dragon

I tried writing with a male!Hiccup...it felt uncomfortable so I changed to Fem!Hiccup. Sorry, but kind of not

Hiccstrid _will_ be in this story, but it's definitely not the main aspect of the story. I'm personally not a hardcore H/A shipper, but the ship is alright. There won't be like any kissing scenes with Hiccstrid, just small moments later on and memories of them being a couple.

Takes place one year after the events of hhtyd. Some of the TV show characters might be mentioned.

There will be multiple point of views.

Male!Astrid is Astrin.

...that's about it for now. Enjoy!~

* * *

Astrin would never ask it out loud, but a part of him always wondered how Hiccup - scrawny, thin, clumsy Hiccup - could be so resilient.

Every single person in the village had done her wrong growing up. The teens would rather ignore her or throw insults her way every chance they got, her father only looked at her with exasperated eyes, and the village overall would never look her way unless there was a raid, when every viking snapped at her to head back inside. The poor girl grew up with no friends by her side once everyone realized her clumsiness and frail structure. She had never really done anything grand in the eyes of others, even though she had blacksmithing skills that could challenge Gobber's, a knack for inventing, and drawings that no one bothered to look at. She had grown up around those who believed her unimportant, who thought of her as nothing more than an outcast.

Then that girl had saved all of Berk while atop the most feared dragon in viking history.

Many apologized to the girl upfront, while the others just began to treat her as an actual villager and not just some stranger who happened to live under the same roof as the chief. Astrin had prepared himself for Hiccup to be hesitant at the newfound kindness thrown her way, and maybe even continue to hold grudges for a few select few, Astrin included.

But the girl just smiled, accepted all the apologies, and moved on with her life. Not once did she show any hostility to the members of the tribe.

It was obvious that she still had the memories. For about a month, she was skeptical towards the twins and Snotlout whenever they asked her to hang out. The girl still had random moments when she just wanted to be by herself and would venture off to who knows where in the woods (although technically she was never alone, since that Night Fury was always by her side). And she was always tentative about asking others to spend time with her, always waiting until someone asked her first.

But Astrin understood. He was just angry at himself for being one of the reasons for pushing the girl so far.

Nothing got in her way. Not the prosthetic that slowed her down at times and made her trip, not the occasional enemy that showed up, not Snotlout's idiocy, _nothing._

Not even the multiple traps set up around the outskirts of an old temple they were nearing.

Everyone else, however, didn't have the same attitude the chief's daughter had.

"Fishlegs, get _off_!" Tuffnut exclaimed when the large Ingerman boy fell atop him.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Fishlegs exclaimed, scrambling to get onto his feet, smiling sheepishly at the Thortson boy once he was upright.

"That really came out of nowhere," Snotlout commented, glancing down at the hole the two teens had fell into, a grin on his face. "Is it comfy down there?"

"Can you punch Snot for me, Astrin?" Tuffnut called out.

Astrin simply extended his arm until he pushed Snotlout, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the hole himself. A scream, crash, and a groan later the blond peaked inside. "That good enough? Now you can punch him yourself."

"Hah, now you're stuck with us," Tuff chortled.

Snotlout glared up at the other teens, especially a certain Hofferson. "I swear, Astrin, when I get back up there, I'm gonna-"

"Hey, hey," Hiccup's voice filled the air, "calm down. We can fight each other _after_ we check out the odd temple, deal? The last thing we need is more injuries from fighting."

The dragon by her side grunted in agreement.

"Deal," Fishlegs chimed before anyone could refute. "Can we just get out of here, please?"

"Got it."

"Uh…" Ruff muttered, loud enough for only Astrin and Hiccup to hear, "how are we going to get them out of there, exactly?"

"A dragon," the chief's daughter stated, as if it were obvious.

...well, it kind of _was_ obvious, now that Astrin thought about it. The hole was far too deep for any of them to reach down and pull the other teens out, and they didn't have rope, or any other tools or objects that could help them for that matter. The only weapons all of them brought were axes, swords, and shields - and their riding gear, if that even counted as weapons - and none of those were sufficient for climbing out of a hole that must have taken someone months for someone to dig.

Hiccup glanced at all the dragons present, eyes filled with calculation and thought, before she pointed at the Thortson twins' Zippleback. "BarfBelch is the only one with long enough necks to reach down and pull them out."

"I honestly don't care if Loki gets me out of here, as long as we get out _now_ ," Snotlout replied, followed by a cough, "there is _way_ too much dirt in here."

"Probably because it's a _hole_ in the _forest,_ Dingus," Tuffnut huffed.

Astrin didn't bother to look down; he knew the two were staring at each other, waiting for the other to pounce. He hoped poor Fishlegs wouldn't get attacked in the process.

They were all out in a matter of minutes, Tuff atop of Belch, Snotlout and Fishlegs on Barf.

"Sweet, now _get off_ my dragon," Ruff ordered Snotlout and Fishlegs, who both heaved sighs before getting off.

"Now that we've got that settled," Hiccup grinned, "let's get moving." She began to walk away before anyone could protest, leaving the others with no other choice but follow.

"What kind of treasure do you think there is inside?" Tuff asked outloud, somewhere behind Astrin.

"Probably, like, gold," Ruff said wistfully.

"And diamonds!" Snotlout chimed.

"And magical stuff! Ooh, that'd be _so cool_!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Magical stuff?" Astrin questioned, angling his head back until he saw the four teens trotting behind him. He had caught up with Hiccup and Toothless and walked with them, along with his Nadder. "What makes you think there's magic?"

"Uh, why _else_ would there be so many traps?" Tuff drawled, "There's obviously some magic going on in there."

"Maybe a witch is inside! And she could grant our wishes!" Snotlout shouted.

"Or a sorcerer!"

"Or a wand!'

"Ooh, maybe there's even a-"

Astrin tuned their rambling out, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The girl by his side chuckled, a smile on her face as she listened to her friends' conversation.

"You doing okay? You know, after hanging upside down?" the girl asked, light, joyful eyes glancing at him.

He almost groaned. The last thing he needed was a reminder of that rope trap that hung him upside down from his ankle. Luckily, he hadn't been in the situation for longer than a minute, but he didn't enjoy the twins poking his sides and Snotlout laughing himself sore.

"You're the one who got caught in a bear trap," he remarked dryly, "how are _you_ doing?"

"My _peg-leg_ got caught in a bear trap, so I'm doing just fine."

"You cut yourself when trying to get out," Astrin gestured to Hiccup's hand, her scar now wrapped up in fabric she had cut off her shirt.

"Eh, 's nothing major," she shrugged.

Toothless sniffed his human's injured hand, as if to see if the wound _was_ alright. She smiled down at her companion, patting his head fondly.

Another thing Astrin admired. All the dragon riders loved their dragons, but he'd never seen a bond stronger than the one Hiccup and Toothless shared. It didn't matter that the Haddock had no idea how to speak the dragon's language, she always understood the Night Fury and what he was saying. If one of them happened to fall into trouble (Hiccup, most of the time), the other would somehow sense and know it before anyone else did. And the two made it top priority to protect each other, even if it hurt themselves in the end. They had a friendship that no one in Berk had ever seen before.

The black dragon crooned, forked tongue gently licking Hiccup's fingers. The girl laughed, flicking the saliva back at the Fury.

Astrin opened his mouth, ready to comment on something or another, since this was _Hiccup_ and he could discuss just about _anything_ with her. But once he saw her look ahead and stop her strides, eyes wide in wonder and delight, he closed his lips and looked at what had her so awestruck.

The temple. They'd reached it with little to no problem after the hole stunt.

A smile broke across the Hofferson's face, taking in the ancient runes engraved on the walls, beige pillars holding the building upright, and the dust and leaves gathering in front of the large, stone doors. The walk towards it was definitely long and difficult - they had even considered turning back - but now that they were only one step away from entering the temple, he felt proud of all the effort they put in.

The magical moment was ruined by none other than Tuffnut.

"Last one in 's dragon dung!" he cried out, pushing everyone out the way before jumping up the steps, chuckles flying past his mouth.

Which, of course, caused everyone else to snicker and follow closely behind him, each helping push the doors until they opened, causing a strident sound to echo beyond the walls.

"Someone needs to put oil on that," Fishlegs commented, still grinning as he rushed inside.

It was...beautiful. Amazing. Glorious. Unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Ruff was the first person to get inside, and upon setting her foot into the building itself, torches on the walls ignited with fires out of seemingly nowhere. Despite the old, almost-crumbling like structure of the exterior, the interior looked just recently built. The glittering white walls, the smooth floor that didn't even show a single footprint, the large, wooden chests tucked into every corner and nook, lined up against the walls, and engravings everywhere the eye could see proved that the whole place was fit for royalty, for someone with wealth beyond imaginable.

Sharp clangs filled Astrin's ears, no doubt the weapons her friends dropped in awe. He didn't flinch or even blink at the sound, too consumed with his surroundings to even muster up the strength to look elsewhere.

They could have been standing there for minutes, drinking in the new, speechless territory they decided to explore after seeing it from the distance. The gang could have ended up standing awestruck for hours, days even, if it wasn't for Hiccup's gentle voice breaking the silent spell.

"What did you say about magic again?"

* * *

Her question snapped everyone else out of their stupor.

Cheers and victory cries left everyone's lips, the teens breaking into sprints around the temple, leaving their discarded weapons at the doors.

The twins bolted to the first chest they saw, their eyes alight with something like bliss when they lifted the lid. Ruff squealed with delight, Tuff thanking some god or another right next to his sister. Fishlegs ran his fingers over the markings on the floor, walls, everywhere, muttering something to himself as he pulled his journal out of his coat and jotted down whatever he could. Snotlout bounced from chest to chest, pulling out all the gold pieces he could and shoving it anywhere in his clothes that could hold them. Asterin hopped on Stormfly and took to the high ceiling, drinking the scenery in from above.

And Hiccup, with a smile on her features, just walked around, eyes jumping from object to object, laughing at the sheer _luck_ they had.

At first, of course, they had come to the island to find a dragon a few vikings said they saw heading to this area. But when they had landed, and Ruffnut suddenly had the tip of her left braid cut off by a flying dagger and they saw the temple, they _had_ to go check it out.

They had already agreed to tell no one on Berk: this would be their little secret. Something they could always look forward to come back to. Besides, nothing in here was something the village really needed.

Maybe they'd tell the village if some major crisis happened. But for now…

Toothless warbled excitedly, sniffing the floor, leading his nose lead the way. Hiccup followed her companion, knowing that if anyone could find something better than the gold and gems stashed away, it was the Night Fury.

"Find something, bud?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.

He nodded in response, letting out a small grunt. He continued to walk, faster this time.

"Let's hope it's something good," she mused, seeing what could have possibly piqued her friend's attention. Several untouched chests were still laying out, but Toothless made no move to near any of them. And besides those and the runes covering every single section of the building, there was nothing else.

Maybe the dragon was just leading them to a chest far in the back. It would make sense to hide something more valuable farther away from the entrance, right?

But they made it to the back, where the last row of the wooden boxes sat, and the Fury pushed his nose in between two of them, scooting them out of the way.

"Toothless, what in Thor's name are you…" she trailed off when the dragon stepped back, revealing a square carved into the wall, behind where the chests previously were.

Well, _carved_ wasn't really the right word. They weren't like the swirls and no doubt ancient languages on the walls; it was like someone had cut a chunk of the stone out of the wall, then stuck it back in.

"Huh, that's… strange," she murmured, rubbing her companion's neck as a sign of thanks. "You think something's hiding in there?"

Toothless huffed, head slightly bobbing in a nod.

"Well, let's go check it out, then."

Turns out that removing the stone was far from easy.

The stone weighed far too much for her to simply pull out, and there was hardly enough space in the thin gap surrounding it to stick her fingers in. She tugged at the cut-out until her arms were heavy and sore from the exertion and fingers limp and frail - and after she tripped on her metal leg a number of times.

Hiccup groaned, glaring daggers at the wall. "Of _course_ I can't open it." She sat on the floor, slouched over, a frown on her face, silently wishing that the gods had given her her father's strength. Twig arms never proved to be useful for her. She'd gotten better at holding swords and axes, since she was a blacksmith's apprentice who worked with those weapons daily, but the weight would do her no good during a fight. Which was why she stuck with her dagger - small, but it could get the job done.

She gasped, eyes widening as she scrambled to her feet - er, foot and fake foot. Her dagger!

Pulling the said object out of her belt, she prayed that her plan would work as she shoved the sharp tip into the wall and angled it inward.

It still took work, her hand would no doubt have a bruise from the dagger's pommel, and her knuckles were drained of all color, almost completely numb. She positioned her good foot on the wall next to the carving, pushing against the wall as she tugged as hard as she could on the slab.

And it budged. And budged some more.

A giggle left her lips, a giddy feeling surging her bones when she holstered the dagger back into her belt. She reached her hand inside once again, the gap much wider than before, and pulled the stone out until it clunked to the floor.

The young heir sighed out in relief, dropping her shoulders and wiping sweat off her forehead. "We did it bud," she breathed, chest still heaving. Toothless cooed, pushing his snout against her side.

Tearing her eyes away from her best friend, she peered inside the indention. After all the work she put in, whatever laid in side _better_ be worth it. She might just lose it if there was nothing worthwhile inside.

She knelt down, crossing her fingers and holding her breath as she finally took a look of what laid inside.

A gold ring, embellished with gems of all colors smaller than ants that glittered in the light of the surrounding torches.

"A ring?" the Haddock questioned, sharing a glance with her companion, who was crouched down and examining the nook next to her. She reached her hand out. "I don't know, I was expecting something a little more-"

Thin, pale fingers brushed the chilled metal, and with a burst of wind, Hiccup's vision went black before a sound could even escape past her parted lips.

* * *

 **A/N:** So well, magic _is_ in here. Hope you don't mind!

Hiccup is just passed out, don't worry! There's still a small amount of before she disappears...

I hope you enjoyed! Please review!

-Chris


	2. Chapter 2: Presto

**A/N: Honestly, the reviews everyone left me made me so happy and it warmed my heart so much like aww I love all of you!**

 **If any of you want, I'm thinking about posting the chapters on Tumblr as well, or at least have other HtTYD things on my dash. Follow me on FeyreArcheronVevo!**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: _Presto_**

* * *

Fishlegs could only watch as Astrin shook Hiccup's unconscious body, more and more panic etching onto his features with each passing second. Toothless nudged the girl with his snout, each small push increasing in force every single time; Snotlout stood close by, jaw just about hitting the floor and eyes wider, and the twins were nervously blubbering words that only caused the other teens to feel more anxiety with each passing second.

"Oh no, what if she's dead?" Tuff wailed in near hysteria, bouncing on his feet in trepidation.

"Wait, she's _dead_?" Ruff exclaimed. "Oh my gods. Hiccup's dead! What-oh no-"

" _Shut up!"_ Astrin just about screamed, glaring daggers at the Thortsons. "She's _breathing_ , got it? She-she'll wake up, okay? Just watch."

Fishlegs knew that Asterin was only trying to reassure himself.

It had thrown everyone off guard and in a frenzy when a sudden burst of wind came from the end of the temple - _opposite of the entrance -_ and knocked Hiccup off her feet and onto the ground, passed out with her skin paler than normal. Everyone had ran towards her immediately, although the teens were laughing and poking her sides at first. But she hadn't woken up, and remained unconscious even when Tuff had yelled into her ear and her cousin dropped gold pieces and gems onto her chest. After that, Astrin knelt down and begged the girl to wake, shaking the body.

And still, her eyes were closed, breaths shallow and chest barely moving.

"What do we do?" FIshlegs asked, trying with all his strength to keep his head.

"Scream at her until she wakes up?" Snotlout suggested, shifting his weight.

"She's barely breathing, Snotlout," Fishlegs snapped, watching the chief's daughter carefully.

"Got anything better?" Snotlout challenged, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't have a lot of options."

He had a point (for once in his life). They were at least a day's ride away from Berk, and that didn't even take into account breaks for meals and rest – they couldn't fly the _whole_ time. They hadn't found any settlements on the island so far, and although the twins - specifically Ruffnut - had knowledge when it came to herbs, they hadn't brought any with them.

In their defense, they hadn't know that Hiccup would just faint out of nowhere! The trip was supposed to be quick and without incident!

Toothless had none of everyone's panic, whether it internal or external, and gave the chief's daughter a long stroke of his tongue on her cheek. Then another one. And another. The Fury's eyes were wide with worry, waiting for his human to make some sort of move.

Everyone's hearts just about leaped with joy when they heard the girl groan uncomfortably.

"T...Toothless?" she breathed, blinking heavily and tiredly.

Said dragon crooned in joy, pouncing on Hiccup and licking her even more.

"Wha-ugh! I'm awake, I'm awake!" She exclaimed, bright, green eyes finally snapped wide open. Her arms were folded over her face, blocking all the affectionate licks given to her. "C'mon bud, you _know_ that's disgusting!"

"Hiccup!" Astrin nearly sobbed out in relief, tackling said girl in a hug as soon as her dragon gave her some breathing room. "Oh my gods, don't do that again! We were worried sick! You were hardly breathing and-and – oh gods – just don't do it again!"

"Huh?" she hummed, glancing at all of her other friends over the Hofferson's shoulder. They all were laughing with new found ease, all talking at once, making it difficult to know _what,_ exactly they were going on about. The only words that she was able to catch were "fainted" "dead," "scared," and "oh gods." "Wait – what did I do? One at a time, please!" she quickly added the last part once every single person opened their mouth.

"We don't really know," Fishlegs said, glancing around the temple, as if someone unknown was only lurking around the corner. "You just...you passed out all of a sudden."

"And we kept shaking you and calling your name but you didn't wake," Astrin explained, loosing his grip and pulling back slightly to see Hiccup's raised eyebrows and thinned lips. "And you were hardly breathing!"

The realization hit her then.

"Y-you thought I was dying?" she asked incredulously, blinking at her friends.

"Well, you were pale as death and barely breathing so _yes,_ we kind of _did_ think that," Tuffnut huffed.

The teens expected the Haddock to apologize, or to start worrying herself over about what had happened and if it would happen again. But to their surprise, the girl tipped her chin back and laughed, her shoulder's bobbing at the motion.

"What? You think this is _funny_?" Snotlout scoffed. "We were worried _sick_! It's not funny at all!"

Astrin normally disagreed with Snotlout on just about everything, but not on a subject like this.

"Thanks for the concern, guys," she calmed her chuckles, an easy grin on her face, "but really, I'm fine. I probably passed out from lack of sleep or something. I didn't sleep much last night. Because, you know, you refused to wake up for your watch and I had to do it most of the night," she directed the last sentence to Snotlout, who just glared at her.

"But there was this wicked burst of wind!" Ruffnut chimed.

"Yeah, and it didn't come from outside! The wind came in from the other way!" Her twin swung his hands wildly at the temple doors.

"And you passed out as soon as it hit you! Like this!" Ruff fell back on the floor, arms splayed out and legs pointing in abnormal directions, with her eyes closed and tongue sticking out.

"I doubt I looked like that," Hiccup snorted, accepting the hand Astrin reached out to hoist her up.

"Yeah, Ruff! Hiccup looked more like this!" Tuff landed besides his sister, face peaceful and fists resting on opposite shoulders. Much like a corpse getting prepared for the boat.

"Okay, I _really_ don't believe that-"

"Look, the point is that one minute you were fine, suddenly some wild wind comes in, and the next minute, you were knocked out. And we have no idea how!" Astrin crossed his arms over his chest. "And _don't_ say that you passed out from lack of sleep! You didn't see what we saw!"

"I'm telling you, it's magic!" Ruff sprang up from his pose.

"Yeah!" the other twin shouted, "Mag-!"

"What do you remember doing before you fainted?" Fishlegs asked the green-eyed girl, ignoring the glare a certain blond twin threw his way. "Maybe something caused it."

Hiccup hummed in thought, glancing around the temple in thought, her green eyes gleaming with light. Her pale, freckled skin looked nothing like the sickly white skin she adorned during her slumber, instead now ignited with color. Strange...how could she be looking close to death one minute and alive and well with no trace of illness the next. Fishlegs didn't even know if that was physically possible.

"Toothless found something in the back of the temple, and we went to check it out..." she drifted off, eyes landing on the back wall before making her way over.

"Okay...did you find something?" Astrin questioned, him and the other teenagers following closely behind.

"We found a cavity in the wall covered up with stone, so I got it out and we looked inside," she continued. She stopped her strides once reaching the wall and said hole, kneeling down to peer inside.

"Did you find something inside it?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Yeah, a ring," she muttered, frowning. "I remember touching it, and then I remember Toothless slobbering all over me, and then you guys were surrounding me. It's like...nothing happened in-between."

Astrin curved his lips down. "That's odd...Is the ring in there?"

She nodded, shifting slightly before hesitantly reaching her hand inside, her other hand gripping the stone wall, knuckles white. Her tongue darted to her lips to lick them nervously, throwing a glance at her dragon. He crooned behind her, gently bumping his head into her side.

Everyone held their breaths in anticipation. Fishlegs saw Ruff grab her brother's arm in his peripheral vision. Snotlout even slightly yelped when Hiccup tensed, eyes snapped open, the ring undoubtedly in her grasp.

A tense silence followed.

"...well, I'm not knocked out, so that's a good sign," Hiccup commented lightheartedly, pulling her hand back. Resting on her fingers was a band of pure gold, glittering amongst the torches on the walls. All around the ring, minuscule pieces of gems none of them had ever seen before were beaded in. Designs similar to vines swirled and looped around, and Fishlegs wondered in awe how someone could create so intricate, beautiful, and flawless.

"...I call dibs!" Tuff punched his fist in the air, ready to pounce.

"What? Nuh-uh, _I_ want it!" Ruff seethed, poking her brother's chest.

"If anyone's gonna get it, _I'm_ gonna get it!" Snotlout pushed them both out of the way, a hungry gleam in his eyes.

"Woah, woah, woah!"Astrin cried, blocking all three of them, arms held out to shield his friend. "Hiccup was the one who found it, so Hiccup should be the one to keep it!" he glared at the twins and Snoutlout.

" _What_?" They yelled out in unison.

"But I want it!" Ruff.

"That's _so_ not fair! Do you _see_ how shiny it is?" Snotlout.

"Okay, but I probably, like, want it ten more times than Hiccup does. Want me to prove it?" Tuff.

They kept going on and on. Eventually, to the surprise of no one, they had started arguing with each other, Snotlout even tugging on Ruff's helmet and Tuff getting ready to kick whoever got in his way.

"Astrin's right, okay?" Fishlegs spoke up, ignoring the glares he received. "All the other treasure you find here is yours, isn't that enough?"

They seemed to consider, exchanging glances, before nodding resolutely. "I guess," Ruffnut said, releasing the hold she had on Snotlout's neck.

"Thank you," Astrin breathed. He looked down at Hiccup, who was still knelt on the ground and examined the ring. Upon feeling his gaze, she looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Asterin."

"Eh, it belongs to you anyway," he grinned, extending a hand her way. She took it graciously and got on her feet. "So, you touched that and you passed out, huh?"

"I guess?" she shrugged. "I don't know what happened, exactly. Did we check those berries for poison?"

Astrin snorted. "Yes, we checked. And even if we didn't, everyone else would've passed out too."

"You've got a point there," she grinned toothily. "But seriously, I probably passed out from lack of sleep. Or maybe there's some poison on this ring."

"But you're not knocked out now."

"Maybe I am and this is all a dream."

He rolled his eyes and (somewhat) gently slapped her arm. She shouted out _"hey!"_ and glowered at him, hand now covering her hit arm.

"What matters is that you're alive and well," Fishlegs chirped, followed by nods from the others. "Let's not worry about it now."

"Even though it was definitely magic," Tuffnut announced.

Cue sighs Astrin, Hiccup, and Fishlegs, and grunts of agreement from Ruff and Snotlout.

* * *

They lost track of how long they stayed in the temple, but by the time they came out, the sun was setting and their stomachs were rumbling with the need for food. Deciding that they wouldn't get to their campsite until dark on foot, they hopped on their dragons and took off before the last of the sun would disappear.

The twins were laughing and grinning to themselves, looking at all the riches they stored in their helmets. Snotlout (after being hit in the head by Astrin) was dejectedly rounding up large enough sticks and branches to use for a fire. And Astrin, Hiccup, and Fishlegs were talking about what food to get.

"We have some fish, but the dragons will undoubtedly eat a lot of them," Hiccup explained, "if not all of them."

"We could go fishing, then," Astrin said.

"Did we bring fishing lines?" Fishlegs inquired.

"One, I think," Astrin sighed. "So one of us can fish. What else can we do, just in case we don't catch enough?"

"We can go looking for berries," Hiccup suggested. "The bushes aren't too far from here, and we know how to check which ones are poisonous or not."

The three exchanged glances then nodded.

"I'll do the fishing." Astrin made his way to one of their bags.

"That leaves us with berry hunting," Hiccup said to Fishlegs. "I'll take the left side of the woods and you can take the right."

"Okay." Fishlegs nodded.

She turned around, about to tell Toothless to get moving so they could finish and start eating early, but frowned when she found her companion asleep. "Of course, you lazy reptile," she huffed. She would have to go by herself, then.

She plucked a stick from Snotlout's firewood pile and walked over to the closest (awake) dragon, Hookfang. "Could you light it for me, Hook?" she asked politely.

The Nightmare blew a puff a fire towards the stick, igniting the tip.

After thanking the dragon by patting her nose fondly, she took off to her side of the woods, that gold ring safely tucked in her tunic.

* * *

"Is that seriously all the fish you caught?" Tuff raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest.

Astrin's victorious grin flattened, a scowl surfacing on his features. It had taken him forever to catch the three fish that now hung from his grasp by the tails. "Oh, you think you can do better? Because all I see you doing is lounging around!"

"Uh, I can _definitely_ catch more than three fish," Tuff proclaimed. "Hand me your fishing line and I'll show you how the master does it."

Astrin scoffed. "The master? Oh, please."

"Yes, _the master._ Now hand the line over."

"Didn't you get the hook stuck in your nose one time when we went fishing?" Ruff poked at her twin tauntingly, a wicked smirk adorning her lips. "I remember you running home crying."

"Uh, _so_ not true!" 

"You're such an idiot! _I'll_ do the fishing!"

"No, I will!"

"No, _I_ will!"

A growl that just about shook the ground cut them off.

Astrin blinked, as did everyone else, as they turned their attention to Toothless. Said dragon was rigid, pupils turned into black slits as he sniffed the sand and grass, head twitching from side to side.

"...Toothless?" Fishlegs asked cautiously, watching the Fury slowly trot on the shore, walking closer and closer towards the forest. _Towards where Hiccup left._

"Is...is it Hiccup?" Astrin asked, breathing catching in his throat when the sleek black dragon grunted in affirmative.

Hiccup...Hiccup was in danger.

Her scream that closely followed that thought confirmed it.

" _Hiccup!"_ Astrin cried, heart frozen and a cold sweat breaking across his body. _"Hiccup!"_

Toothless took off in a sprint, leaving a cloud of sand that Astrin choked on.

"C'mon!" he ordered past his clogged throat to the others, not even bothering to look behind him as he blindly bolted through the forest.

With the sun now officially down and the night reigning, he constantly bumped into trees and stones and scraped his arms a number of times. But he didn't feel any of it. All he could feel, hear, and see was Hiccup's previous scream, so full of terror. All he could think about was how no matter how many times he or the others yelled her name, all they were met with was silence and the sound of their boots crunching the grass under them.

Why wasn't she answering them? Why wasn't she letting out another scream to let them at least know that she was alright? What had changed?

What if she was...

" _Hiccup!"_

No, he wouldn't believe it. Not when Hiccup was one of the most stubborn vikings he ever knew. The girl had faced just about the largest dragon in the whole damn world without a hint of fear in her eyes!Surely something had frightened her, and nothing else. Maybe a dragon had snuck up on her, or she just tripped, or maybe...

All thoughts flew from her head when she saw Toothless, no longer running, a panicked glint in his slits when as he sniffed at the dirt and grass. By him was a forgotten torch, its flames licking the grass, a fire that would've spread to the whole forest if Meatlug hadn't stomped it out.

All of the dragons had come. Most likely they flew when they heard Hiccup's scream.

But Hiccup...she wasn't here, and if Toothless and the other dragons were sniffing the ground, this was the last place she was.

How...?

"She brought that torch with her while looking for berries," Tuffnut's winded voice floated to Astrin's ears. It was then that he realized that they had all stopped their sprinting when they reached the previously burning torch and the sniffing dragons.

Toothless released a whine. He nudged his snout against a pile of scattered berries.

She was here...

"Hiccup..." Astrin breathed feebly. A prayer, a plea.

She was gone.

Hiccup was gone.

* * *

 **So there are things I totally forgot to clarify in the first chapter, so I decided to just clear it up now before I forget, or else I'm like totally never gonna put it.**

 **1-The events are loosely based off of a book series, brownie points if someone is able to guess it later on**

 **2-So the reason I'm not really in love in Hiccstrid is because in the first movie, their relationship just gives off the whole "hero gets the girl vibe" and it makes no sense to me how one minute Astrid hates Hiccup, then the next she loves him. It seems more like a "I-don't-really-like-you-but-I'm-in-love-with-the-thing-you-have/did" relationship at the end of the first movie, and I was kind of upset that it didn't show some sort of buildup. I know that RRTE shows them as just friends and will probably end with a romance between the two of them, but it still just shows everyone hating Hiccup one minute then liking him the next. It makes no sense to me. None.**

 **But in HHTYD2, I felt like Hicstrid's relationship was tastefully done, so I didn't mind it so much then. That being said, I know Hiccstrid has potential to be a wonderful pairing, which is why I'm willing to include H/A in _Stormerki._ I'm trying to stay canon to what happened in the first movie, so their kiss did happen, but they are currently just good friends and nothing more (will be explained later). Their relationship will blossom, but as mentioned last chapter, it's not the main focus, and there won't be anything like heated kissing and all that**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Divisi

**So from here, there will be several point of views ranging from Stoick, to Toothless, to Astrid, to Fishlegs, etc. However, Hiccup's POV won't be included. The point of the story is to try to decipher what happened to her with no idea of where she went or the hardships she had to go through. But until then, the village has got some thinking (and panicking) to do.**

 **Friendly reminder that:**

 **Fem!Hiccup is still Hiccup**

 **Male!Astrid is Astrin**

* * *

 **Chapter Three:** _ **Divisi**_

* * *

They had to have circled the whole island a total of five times by the time the sun came up. None of them had slept for a minute, despite their eyes becoming slowly heavier and heavier as the adrenaline wore off. Hel, all any of the teens ate before rushing around the forest and beach and temple was the pile of berries Fishlegs had picked earlier.

Astrin told himself that it would be worth it as soon as they found Hiccup. That's all he needed.

But they hadn't found her. Not laying on the beach, not hiding somewhere between the trees, not searching around that old, gods-forsaken temple.

"Anything?" he asked wearily when the group met back up at the campsite. He already knew the answer, though, seeing all their forlorn faces and dark circles under their eyes.

A chorus of _"No"_ s followed.

He sighed, balling his hands into fists and digging them into his eyes. "Dammit. What the hel are we going to do?" Tiredly, he jumped off of Stormfly, sand creating a cloud around his feet. "Where could she have gone?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, man," Snotlout breathed, leaning against one of Hookfang's horns. "We've searched this place, like, a million times, and there's still no sign of her."

Toothless whined softly, rounded pupils downcast.

Astrin frowned and made his way over to the black dragon, patting his snout reassuringly. "I'm sure we'll find her, okay Toothless? Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

"Uh, are you sure about that?" Ruffnut said dryly.

He gasped and whirled around to face the twin, eyes set into serpentine slits. "Seriously, Ruffnut? What's your problem?" he asked incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest.

She threw her hands in the air. "What? I'm just stating the facts. Hiccup's _nowhere_ on this island! Just accept that!"

Astrin only seethed more, clenching his teeth. "You don't know that! Maybe she just-"

"Look, Astrin. If she was here, even if we couldn't see her, our dragons would have been able to sniff her out! Toothless, especially!"

"And the last place they smelt her was where the torch and berries are," Tuffnut finished. "And if she had walked away, or even if she was taken by another dragon-"

"They still would have been able to smell her down. But they didn't."

The Hofferson's glare faltered, but he still didn't let down. "Our dragons aren't for tracking-"

"Yours is," Tuffnut cut her off*.

Astrin tore his scowl away from the male twin to examine all of his other friends. All of them were off their dragons by now, staring uncertainly at the ground, flinching slightly when his gaze fell on them. "Seriously, do you all just think she's dea-"

"No, we'd be able to track her body if that was the case," Fishlegs interjected.

"Really, Fishlegs? You too?" Astrin scoffed. The Ingerman was _always_ on his side, so why wouldn't he be now? Especially with something as important as finding the missing heir to the chiefdom of Berk!

"You're tired, Astrin. We're _all_ tired," Fishlegs said genlty, softly, soothingly. "None of us are thinking straight, okay? We need some rest."

The tall blond's vision filled with red. The larger boy was talking to him as if Astrin was a scared, rogue dragon! Like he was nothing but a deranged little boy who woke up terrified after a nightmare. The nerve of it! Their friend was missing – _missing!_ And all they wanted to do was lay around while Hiccup was gods knows where!

He opened and shut his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to express how lazy and uncaring the group around him was. Gods, his blood was boiling with anger, and if he didn't snap something out soon, he was going to hit something. Most likely Snotlout (just because he was annoying and looked just about ready to pass out).

Closing his eyes, Astrin blocked out the oncoming rays of the sun beginning to brighten and his friends, and took in one large breath. No, the anger wouldn't held him now, that would only make him more irrational. All he needed right now was to hop back on Stormfly and look for his friend.

Eyes finally opened as he exhaled, feeling his heart dropping in speed. He looked at his friends, expression cool and collected. "Just remember this: Hiccup would have flown to the edge of the world to find you – any of you."

And with that, he hopped on his dragon and took off.

* * *

Astrin had come back later, after the sun was fully up and about to hit the middle of the sky. The group spent the day sleeping and scarfing down all the food they could. All of them were still jumpy, and once in a while, when they heard a sound coming from the trees, they mistook the sounds for Hiccup and ran over.

It was never her, though.

And they hadn't really slept that much. By the time they were all awake, the sun was still up and was just barely tipping down for the evening.

"What are we gonna do?" Tuffnut asked after everyone had finished eating, all of them sitting around the fire Meatlug lit for them.

Fishlegs half expected to hear Hiccup excitedly explaining what their plan would be for the rest of the day. Of course, though, all he was met with was contemplating hums and downcast sighs. From the looks of dismay on the faces of the other teens, he guessed that they _all_ were waiting for the chief's daughter's voice to reach their ears.

"We need to go back to the village, right? And tell Stoic, he'll know what to do! When doesn't he?" Snotlout suggested, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"But what if Hiccup's still here?" Astrin asked, with the most painful look on his face and eyes laced with exhaustion and worry. He had slept less than all of them, since he returned sometime after the rest of them had fallen asleep, and had woken up shortly after everyone else did.

The twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs knew by this point that, although it made absolutely no sense, Hiccup had just...disappeared. Not wandered off, kidnapped, or killed. Just...gone. Like she was here one moment and vanished in thin air the next. They had searched the whole entire island countless of times and hadn't found her. Astrin's Nadder, a _tracking dragon_ , was unable to sniff her down! Toothless, her best friend and best bet of finding her, couldn't even find any trace of her.

But Astrin...he refused to believe that Hiccup was just somewhere right under their noses, waiting to be found. It didn't matter how many times they told him that wasn't the case, he refused to listen.

"Then Ruff and I will stay here," Tuffnut announced. "You guy brings Stoick, and while you're gone, we'll see if Hiccup shows up. What do you say?"

The group exchanged glances then nodded. Seemed simple and fair enough.

"What're we gonna do about Toothless?" Snotlout asked, nodding towards the Night Fury laying next to all the other dragons. Tired, defeated, but unable to sleep.

The poor Fury couldn't get anywhere in the air on his own. And although one of the teens could ride on him, they didn't have a clue on how the mechanics with the tail worked*, since none of them had thought they _needed_ to learn it sometime. Fishlegs had asked Hiccup how it worked once, and she had talked about how different ropes and pulleys tugged at the fin when her foot was in a certain position, causing the tail to turn at different angles depending on the turn and whatnot. So he knew how it functioned, but not how to do the job himself, unless he wanted to accidentally bring him and Toothless to certain doom.

Well, there was that time that Hiccup had shown her father how to ride Toothless...but that had proved to be a disaster, and the dragon seemed to never want to be ridden by the Chief ever again. Ever.

"Does anyone know how to ride him?" Ruffnut asked, scanning her eyes to each of her friends.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Well, great, that's just great," Astrin muttered, suddenly filled with newfound anger. He kicked the sand before standing up, grabbing his ax off of his sleeping blanket, and beginning to walk towards the forest.

"Uh, Astrin?" Snotlout called out, blinking. "Where are you going?"

"I need to hit something!" He called back, disappearing in the bushes and trees.

"You do know we need to leave soon, right?" Fishlegs cried out. "The village is probably already expecting us anytime now!"

"I'll be back soon!"

"But-"

"Just let it go, man," Tuffnut grumbled, standing up from the ground. "I'm going to check Hiccup's bag to see if there's any manual for the tail or something."

"Why would she keep a manual if she knows how to work it already?" Ruffnut snapped, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know, in case she disappeared like she did!" Her twin glared at her, huffing something most likely offensive under his breath as he plopped in front of Hiccup's supplies and began rummaging for whatever he could find.

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs just sighed, the latter picking up a forgotten stick that fell from the firewood pile to sketch meaningless shapes into the sand. Thor, what were they going to do? Their friend was out there _somewhere_ , she had to be! Nowhere on this island, but somewhere, alive and well and lost!

The large blond took a breath. Everything would be fine. They would go back to the village, tell Stoick, and he would know exactly what to do.

...right?

"Guys!" Tuffnut snapped Fishlegs out of his thoughts. "I found something!"

"Wait, did you _actually_ find a manual?" Ruff blinked, standing up with everyone else from the sand.

"Nope! But I found something _better_ than an old piece of paper!"

"What is it?" Snotlout inquired, walking up to the male twin.

"Do you remember that tail Hiccup made Toothless for Snoggletog? And she told us that she was only going to use it for emergencies!"

"...no way." But Snotlout was grinning none the less.

"Uh, yes way!" Tuffnut cackled, removing the fin from the bag they had assumed to only contain weapons and maps. "Guess we don't need to learn how to ride Toothless after all."

Despite all of their heavy hearts, they found a way to grin at each other and whoop in celebration.

* * *

When Astrin came back, panting and sweating and red in the face with new blisters on his fingers and palms, the teens packed up and took off – minus the twins.

Toothless tore threw the skies gracefully amongst the others, his tail fins turning and flattening without any problems. But he bore a dragging feeling, longing for his companion to come back.

Day had already blended into evening, but since all their dragons had fairly good eyesight in the dark, the group decided that they would all be fairly safe anyways. And they had wasted enough time as it was – the Chief was expecting them to be back by now, and with reports on those dragons they had totally forgotten to check up on. Oops.

Snotlout rationalized that Stoick probably wouldn't care about those dragons anymore after hearing about his missing daughter. The Chief would probably yell out _"What?"_ almost deafeningly, like always, and march towards his Thunderdrum and take off towards the island without waiting for anyone else to follow him.

Or, he could take all of his anger out on the teens that let his daughter go missing. Snotlout was keeping his fingers crossed for the former. Although that could end with Stoick yelling at them anyway...

But that was _only_ if they didn't find Hiccup. And with the village and Stoick's help, they would find her in no time!

At least, that's what he kept telling himself. Maybe if the Jorgeson said it to himself enough times, it would come true.

They arrived sometime in the middle of the night. Despite the torches being out most nights with only one or two vikings taking watch, Stoick, Gobber, and all of the riders' parents stood on the docks with flaming torches in their hands.

"Oh no," Astrin groaned. The teens were still in the skies, close enough to see the village and the crowd, but too far away to make out their expressions. Snotlout was currently grateful for that; he didn't want to know what was going on in the Chief's mind to not see his daughter flying with the others. "Is everyone prepared for an earful?"

"Not really." Snotlout leaned back until he was laying down on Hookfang's neck. "The Chief is going to kill us, isn't he?"

"Probably."

" _Great._ "

"Well," Fishlegs chimed, "we might kind of deserve it for, you know, _missing his daughter._ "

"Okay, _how_ were we supposed to know that Hiccup would just disappear?" Snotlout challenged, scowling at the clouds fogging over the stars. "She has _never_ done that before."

"Just shut up, Snotlout!" Astrin growled, and the brunette had no intention of looking up to see the rage on the Hofferson's face. That guy could be _really_ frightening sometimes.

"Ohh, Stoick's looking pretty mad," Fishlegs said feebly.

Snotlout suppressed the urge to turn his Nightmare around and sat up instead, adjusting the helmet that tipped past his eyes. Berk was getting closer and closer, until Snotlout could see his family's Hall, the odd dragon or two flying away for a midnight snack, and the wide eyes and scrunched up eyebrows on Stoick's face.

"We're so dead."

And he knew it from the moment they landed right behind the small group of vikings, and the Chief's eyes followed the lone Night Fury, with the self-functioning tail Hiccup normally kept for emergencies only. "Where's Hiccup?" he asked quietly, voice full of worry and the anger they knew would be released any second now.

"Sir..." Astrin was the first to speak, easing himself off his dragon, "I – we can explain," he stuttered.

"Where's Ruffnut and Tuffnut?" a woman spoke up, pushing her way past the other vikings to stand besides Stoick. "Are they all searching for something?" the twins mother asked, uncertainty sparkling in her blue eyes.

"Ruff and Tuff are fine," Astrin reassured her before turning back to the Chief, "but, sir, we _really_ need to talk to-"

"Ya know, you all took much longer than planned to come back," Gobber interrupted, wobbling towards the three teens, patting each one of them on the shoulder. "So did ya find those dragons?"

"Not now Gobber," the Hofferson cleared his throat, "there's something more important we need to talk about."

"Wha'? Did Hiccup lose a limb again?"

"No, she didn't, but-"

"Well that's a relief. I was afraid that girl would accidentally cut off her own arm! Almost done it a few times, that one-"

"Look, _really,_ we need to talk about-"

"It can't be something that bad-"

" _Gobber!_ " Stoick yelled, glaring at the blacksmith, who just shrugged and wadded his way back to the adult vikings. "Now, what is it you have to tell me?" He turned his attention back to the three, and Snotlout prayed to the gods that the Chief didn't notice their nervously shifting feet and rapid beating hearts. "Is it Hiccup?"

"Yes." It was Fishlegs who spoke this time, since Astrin looked close to losing it right then and there with his shaky breath and gulps thick with oncoming tears. "She uh...we...well..."

"...yes?" the Chief drawled, raising a thick eyebrow at the teen. "Well, spit it out, son!"

"Um..." Fishlegs folded his hand staring down at his interlocked fingers, fidgeting not-so-subtly under Stoick's gaze. "You see...uh..."

"Hiccup's missing!" Snotlout exclaimed, sweat trickling down his brows. Jeez, he didn't want to be the messenger either, but they couldn't just drag it out! The longer they kept it going, the longer it would take to find their missing friend.

Besides, it wasn't like Stoick was going to get less angry about if they wanted to tell him "delicately." Seriously, how do you tell someone that their daughter is missing delicately?

Everyone held their breaths nonetheless, squeezing their eyes shut and leaning slightly away from the Chief. They could feel it coming any second now–

" _My daughter is_ what?"

And there it was.

Snotlout knew when he opened an eye just a sliver to see Stoick's red face, eyes the size of dragon eggs, and fingers practically making the torch he was holding splinter, that they were all going to have a long, _long_ day.

* * *

 **So I wanted to make the chapter longer, but I felt like it was boring and long enough as it was, so...**

 **I know Astrin was kind of like "Wow y'all don't care" then it went to Fishlegs and Snotlout who did sound more concerned than Astrin believed. I tried to include that thing where people misread situations, and how people perceive different conversations and different actions certain ways. While Astrin believes that none of them are worried about Hiccup, the others actually believe that it's more rational to just give it a rest and go to Stoick with the problem. I don't really like to think that there's a right or wrong way on how to approach the situation. I mean, I honestly don't know what I myself would do, so...**

 **Next chapter is going to cover several months (or at least that's what I'm thinking right now). I don't want Hiccup to be gone from this story too long, so I'm gonna try to speed it up and stuff. Whoo.**

 **1*Deadly Nadders are in the Tracking Class...I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong, please!  
**

**2*In HtTYD2, I never understood how Drago just _randomly_ knew how to work Toothless's prosthetic, since it looks pretty complicated and in the first movie, it showed Hiccup, the one who _invented it_ , struggling at first to figure out how to get Toothless to fly at certain angles. So yeah. I don't know, I just wanted to say that bothered me, and point out I'm pretty sure that unless Hiccup taught anyone else to use the tail, none of them know how to fly the Night Fury (Drago included). I know that others ride Toothless multiple times in the shows, but _still_ , okay, it bothers me how everyone just _randomly knows_ how to work it. So there. Which is why I included that prosthetic Hiccup made Toothless in _The Gift of the Night Fury_ , since it seems pretty logical to keep that for emergencies.**

 **Please leave reviews! It kind of motivates me to update quicker...*nudge nudge***


	4. Chapter 4: Grave

**Back again with chapter 4!**

 **So while writing this chapter, I listened to the song "See You Again" by Charlie Puth (the no rap version, the other version just kind of kills the mood). I don't know, I've cried a lot while listening to it (I'm rlly sensitive okay) and I don't know it just has the whole vibe of the upcoming chapter. So listen to it if you like!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: _Grave_**

* * *

All Stoick heard for the rest of the day were those same two words, repeating over and over again in his head without end.

 _Hiccup's missing._

Hiccup, his skinny, sarcastic daughter, was missing. Lost out there somewhere, probably scared and going through gods knows what.

After first getting told the news from the three fidgeting teens, everything moved so fast. Stoick remembered having to wake several villagers to load up a ship, sending Astrin, Fishlegs, and Snotlout to retrieve the tracking dragons, and getting Skullcrusher, then they had all left; the teens on their dragons, all of the vikings that offered to come on the ship, and Stoick atop his Thunderdrum.

The ship was far behind him, and Snotlout and Fishlegs flew with the other tracking dragons and Toothless in front to guide the way. Next to the chief was Astrin, who was summoned to fly beside Stoick for the trip. He had questions he needed to ask, and the Hofferson was the teen he trusted the most when it came to his daughter.

"And you didn't see her after that?" he asked incredulously, turning his head to glance at the blond teenager.

"No, sir, we didn't. We searched the island by foot and by dragon and there was no sign of her," Astrin explained, eyes narrowed in concentration in front of him. His Deadly Nadder looked like it was fighting to stay the speed her rider wanted her to go, and the rider himself looked ready to sleep. When this blew over, he was going to order the teenagers to sleep and not come out of the house until they didn't look like death any more.

"You didn't look for her on any neighboring islands?" Stoick grunted. His nerves were getting the better of him, and he knew it wasn't going to die down until he found his daughter, safe and alive.

The boy tensed, slightly shifting his position on his dragon, eyes widening but steering clear of the chief.

"Astrin," Stoick huffed, clearly not in the mood for secrets, "what is it?"

"I—the twins and Fishlegs, they said earlier that even our dragons weren't able to track her down," the boy stuttered. He paused, clearing his throat, still looking straight ahead. "And, they said that even if she was carried to another island by a dragon or if someone took her, Toothless or Stormfly would have been able to follow her scent and find her."

Realization crashed into the chief, making his chest ache and guts feel like stones. "They didn't smell her," he finished the line the boy was obviously struggling to get out.

"The last place they found her scent was in a clearing where she was picking berries. But after that—no, nothing."

He sighed, scrubbing his face in frustration. "So, no one knows where she is?"

"No."

"And no one knows how she disappeared?"

"No," Astrin said sadly.

"Could she still be on the island?" Unless a dragon carried her away or the girl made a new enemy he didn't know about. She was quite good at that.

"We don't know, which is why Ruffnut and Tuffnut stayed behind. To see if she'd show up while we got help."

At least they hadn't left the island stranded when his daughter could possibly be there. "How much longer?" the chief asked gruffly. The sooner they reached their destination, the better.

"It's a day long journey—we should reach there just right before the sun starts to set," Astrin answered, and Stoick could hear the tiredness, panic, worry, and fear all laced together in the young viking's voice.

It wasn't like the chief's voice was much better, though.

But they would find her. And if someone had taken the girl—which happens more often than he would've liked—he would rescue her. Because a Chief protects his people. Especially their children.

They would find her.

* * *

They didn't.

* * *

The group of vikings that had come had no luck. The twins found no sign of Hiccup, the tracking dragons traced her scent to that spot with the dry torch and the pile of forgotten berries, and not a single villager could find a sign of the girl.

So just like that.

Gone.

"Wha's with th' big ol' building?" Gobber asked Fishlegs and the twins, as they were all searching the island together.

"Oh, uh—" Tuffnut started, scratching his chin. Well, they had _planned_ on keeping the temple a secret, but there wasn't a reason to now, with half of Berk here and their heir _missing_. "—it's a temple we found. There's, like, gold and stuff inside."

" _Gold?_ " the blacksmith raised his eyebrows, jaw dropping as he looked at the large structure. "Are ya sure Hiccup isn't in there? Tha's where I'd be if I went missing on an island with a temple filled with gold."

"We checked, and checked, and checked again. She's not in there," Ruffnut said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But I guess checking again wouldn't hurt," Fishlegs shrugged, "it's not like we haven't checked everywhere _else_ too."

The three teens exchanged glances then nodded. Might as well.

"Alright, let's ge' to it." Gobber started hobbling over to the building, the others following.

She wasn't in there, either.

* * *

The time they spent looking turned into days. They extended their search to nearby islands. They questioned old, locked up enemies. They visited places where Hiccup went often. And nothing. There was nothing.

Stoick eventually sent the teenagers back to Berk to rest, since they all looked ready to pass out at every given moment. He probably looked no different himself, he only rested his head for a short amount of time each night before expanding his search somewhere else.

And it wasn't like the teens help mattered. The search hadn't changed with or without them.

Everyone eventually came back to the village with heavy hearts and tired eyes. Life went on. Gobber manned the smithy, the teens trained dragons in the Academy, Stoick did his chiefly duties, the villagers went back to their perfunctory existence. But Gobber no longer hummed merry tunes or took a new apprentice, the teens didn't laugh or even bicker as they used to, Stoick let tears roam down his cheeks when he came home to an empty hall, the villagers didn't talk in loud and proud voices anymore.

Yes, life went on, but it wasn't the same.

* * *

Astrin woke to a dragon huffing and growling.

He groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. It had taken forever for him to fall asleep, and he had hopped to stay so until the morning rays of the sun warmed the village. Now that he was awake, it would no doubt take him more time than he would like to let sleep consume him. Especially when thoughts of Hiccup plagued his mind whenever he was awake.

The dragon's growling continued.

The Hofferson huffed, throwing his blanket off and stuffing his feet into his boots. Maybe Stormfly was hungry and was too lazy to get some food herself, typical slothful dragon. He had put a basket of fish in the stable before he went to bed, unless the Nadder already ate it all.

"Fat dragon," he muttered to himself, pushing his messy hair out of his face as he quietly walked down the stairs. How his parents could sleep through this, he had no idea, but he didn't care.

He grabbed a candle on one of the downstairs dressers and lit the tip before entering the stable. "Okay, okay, be quiet, I'll get you some more—"

Stormfly laid there, opening her eyes and perking her head up upon seeing her rider. Not making any sounds.

Astrin blinked. "Then who the hel...?" Eyebrows knitted together, he left the stable to let his dragon sleep. He stayed quiet for a moment, listening for the growling and huffing, before finally noticing where the sound came from and following it. Outside.

He opened the door, shivering at the cold, night air and hugging his arms to his chest. He padded around his house, poking his head out around the corner to see who's dragon was disturbing his sleep.

And there stood a Night Fury.

"Toothless?" the boy questioned, walking over to said dragon. The Fury, ever since coming back, had mostly spent his time in the Haddock Hall, most likely laying on Hiccup's bed and refusing to leave. Everyone had taken her disappearance hard, but it hit Toothless most of all. "What are you doing here?"

The dragon closed the remaining distance and nudged his nose against Astrin's stomach, who patted the Fury comfortingly. Toothless huffed again, then pointed his head to the side, obviously trying to show the teenager something.

Unfortunately for him, Hiccup was the one who understood dragons better than anyone.

"You...want me to go with you?" he guessed, looked over to where the dragon nodded. All he saw was the night sky and endless ocean.

The Night Fury shook his head, and flapped his wings once, staring at Astrin expectedly.

"Uh...you're going somewhere?"

Toothless nodded, but still kept his eyes on the Hofferson, waiting for him to say something.

"Okay, so you're going somewhere..." he said, trying to put the pieces together in his head. "Wait...you're going to go find her, aren't you?"

A nod, then the dragon looked down.

Astrin smiled sadly, setting the candle on the ground to wrap both of his arms around the Night Fury's neck. "I believe in you, Toothless," he said, pulling back for his eyes to meet Toothless' round pupils. "Find her."

He grunted in affermation. And when Astrin removed himself from the Fury, he took off, scales blending in with the night.

If anyone could find Hiccup, it was him.

Astrin told Stoick in the morning, and he seemed to agree.

Days turned into weeks.

* * *

Stoick returned home in the evening, brows coated in sweat from being out and about all day long. He hung his helmet and bear cape on the hook by the door and made his way up the stairs to sleep for the night until he would have to be out again tomorrow.

That's when he looked at Hiccup's closed door.

He paused, his foot on the top step, staring sadly at the slab of wood. He was used to hearing his daughter's voice from that room, welcoming him home before she would walk out and ask about his day. He would walk in sometimes to see her on the floor, writing or drawing something while talking to her dragon casually, like Toothless was another human being. She would walk out of that door after Stoick knocked at it and barked at her to get up, and she would emerge soon after, a little irked but overall _happy_ and glad to talk to her father.

Sometimes, when their arguments would reach its peak, she would groan and shut herself in her room—at least, before she had a dragon that she would fly off on. When she got frustrated, he would hear her mutter something sarcastic under her breath behind that wall. At times, when the girl was doing gods know what in that room of hers, he would call out her name and he would hear _several_ things falls and hear her yelp before she feebly said, "yeah?"

Now, all that door contained was memories.

Stoick had avoided her room ever since he came back from searching. He wasn't sure _why_ exactly. He missed Hiccup, so much that his heart twisted whenever her name came to mind. But looking at it without hearing his daughter's voice seemed too... _real_. Almost like a slap in the face that she was _gone_ , and she wasn't coming back.

But now...

The chief swallowed down something—tears, maybe—and took a few steps before pushing the door open.

Her thick, green blanket was still thrown on the bed, not neatly smothered over, almost like Hiccup had just woken up and thrown the covers off moments ago. The helmet he had given her the night before fighting the Gronkle rested on the bed post, and many of her sketches were littered on the small corner table and on the floor.

It almost looked like she had just left this morning to go to the Academy, and would come back in a day's time.

Almost.

But dust was gathering on the helmet and sketches and bed. The only indicator that she hadn't been there in weeks.

Stoick took a few wavering steps inside before sitting on the bed, drinking in all the details around him that he possibly could. All of the details he never bothered to take in before, but all he cared about now that his daughter was no longer here. He looked at small cracks, burns, and dents on the walls and floors, stories behind each one that he might never be able to hear.

Her memories were everywhere. If only Hiccup herself was here, too, to tell him everything.

Weeks turned into months.

* * *

 **I had kind of told myself I would update sooner...oops. Not to mention this chapter is short, a filler, and boring.**

 **But hey, I got it done, right?**

 **The next chapter or two probably won't have Hiccup in it, soo sorry to those that miss her. She'll be back soon!**

 **I feel like I did a shit job with showing Hiccup's and Stoick's relationship, but hopefully all of you lovely readers will like it and not think it's too OOC.**

 **Psst...reviews and follows and favorites kind of make me update faster.**


	5. Chapter 5: Adagio

**A/N: I suck and I need to learn to update more often, but what's new? Also, school is giving me five heart attacks per day and I'm doing all I can to have a social life, get school work done, get the right amount of sleep, and write. It's not really working out for me. And I have a new idea for a fic in mind, so keep your eyes open for it...**

 **Chapter 5: _Adagio_**

* * *

Toothless tore threw the skies day and night. He only stopped when sleep became necessary or hunger settled in his stomach. He visited islands that the others never checked, the ones that only him and Hiccup had explored. He landed on other dragon colonies when he wanted to stray as far as possible from tribes of hostile humans, then searched those villages at night when all were asleep and wouldn't see his form. Anything to find his rider, to catch her scent, to make sure she was safe.

And so far, nothing.

The Fury had never ventured out this far—he had always stayed in the archipelago, where the Queen's Nest was, where Berk was, where his island of birth was. But he scoured every square inch of the area to find nothing, not a single hint or clue to where Hiccup could be. He had no other choice, the only other hope he had was that she was beyond the small clump of islands.

There were large civilizations that had never even heard of dragons, some that spoke in tongues he's never heard before, some that had customs he couldn't wrap his head around. And despite all the new lifestyles he saw, all the new questions that he should have been asking about the world beyond, all Toothless could think of was that Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. He was so tired, so full of weariness and doubt, that maybe he should just give up.

But he felt it. He felt _her._ She wasn't dead. She was alive out there, somewhere.

That gave him all the strength he needed to keep looking.

* * *

Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, and one of the bravest men to ever grace the vikings, had definitely seen better days.

The village was gathered in the Hall, squished close together as they all waited in anticipation for their Chief to speak. The older vikings—the shield maidens and warriors and fighters—stood closer in the front, with Gobber and Spitelout being the closest to Stoick. The remaining villagers were in the back, the teens and dragon riders, leaning against the wall and wondering what, exactly, was happening. Everyone else, the nursing mothers and children, stayed back at their homes.

The Chief kept upright at the head of it all. Dark shadows were under his eyes, green irises laced with concern and hesitance. Amongst the crowd, people were noticeably shifting, drinking in the appearance of the usually—well, _stoic—_ leader and warrior. Whatever he had to say, whatever caused him to round up the whole tribe, couldn't be good.

"What do you think this is gonna be about?" Ruffnut asked, her small attempt at conversation to block out the silence that hung in the air around the small, normally tight group.

"I don't know. Important enough to call a meeting right after dinner, apparently," Snotlout muttered.

"He looks pretty worried," Astrin observed, nodding towards Stoick. "Whatever he has to say is probably nothing good."

"Maybe the Outcasts are going to attack us?" Tuffnut suggested.

"We made our peace with them, Tuff. They're not going to attack us," Astrin sighed. The normal bite in his argument was absent, replace with exhaustion and fatigue. When was the last time this guy _slept_?

"You don't think this could be about...you know..." Fishlegs trailed off. Everyone picked up immediately.

Ruffnut blinked. "You don't think he's, like, going to declare a new heir...do you?"

She expected to be met with a long pause of contemplative—and most likely depressed—silence. However, Astrin's response was quick.

"Of course not. Stoick wouldn't do that."

The Thortson girl inwardly groaned. She missed Hiccup as much as everyone else, but she saw no point in denying that life had to move on. Maybe not now, maybe not in a year, but someday. She opened her mouth, but Fishleg cut her off.

"He's right. You know how much the Chief pushed the position on Hiccup. The only way he'll name a new heir is—" he abruptly stopped, but the missing words still surrounded them.

 _If she's dead._

No. Ruffnut was not going to think about that.

The Chief's voice boomed in the Hall.

"Thank you all for gathering here today," he announced. Everyone's voices hushed immediately. "We have received a recent threat from an unknown source early this morning."

Ruffnut blinked. She had a small suspicion that those around her did too.

No more than a small line of greeting, then cutting straight to the point, a declaration of the village's troubles.

First Hiccup, now _this_... It was no wonder that the normally tall, proud, mighty Stoick looked like he could topple over at any moment.

"Unknown source?" Spitelout asked, concern etched onto his features, much like every other villager standing about.

"No name, no seal of any sort. It came with the rest of the mail Joan brought from the neighboring tribes," Stoick explained. His voice was grave and deep, missing the normal conflict-ready edge he almost always had.

"Wha' did it say?" Gobber asked.

The Chief fished out a folded letter from his vest and passed it over to the blacksmith. The latter unfolded it, blinked and squinted at the words, then held it farther back, then pushed it close enough for his nose to touch the paper. His face noticeably drained of all color.

Ruffnut glanced over to her brother, his gaze already trained on her. They had seen Gobber face down a Monstrous Nightmare before without an ounce of fear and a gleam of excitement in his eyes. But a mere slip of a leaf had his face pale and eyes wide. Whatever that letter contained _could not_ be good.

Stoick went on, announcing how he wanted double the night guards, no ships leaving the harbor, and a thorough investigation of any foreign ship that came, whether it be from a belligerent tribe or not. No one could leave the island, even by dragon, until the Chief absolutely knew that no danger would come. Then, everyone was dismissed, left with more questions than answers.

"What was that all about?" Snotlout was the first to speak when they all left together, his voice a tiny bit higher than normal.

"Nothing good, if the Chief told us absolutely nothing about it," Astrin muttered.

"Do you think if we hound Gobber, he'll give us answers?" Tuffnut asked.

"Highly doubtful," Fighlegs sighed, "not unless we want to accidentally land him in trouble."

Ruffnut pouted. "Damn, I _really_ want to know."

"Get in line," her brother said.

A long stretch of silence followed. Wordlessly, they all eventually broke apart and found their ways back to their houses. Even the twins, who talked about basically _anything_ , walked home in silence, lost in their own thoughts and unable to bring themselves to break the quiet around them.

Hopefully everything would turn out alright.

* * *

"It was a good thing I didn't tell them all, right?" Stoick asked, drinking out of his mug shortly after.

"Aye," Gobber hummed, "we've never received something like tha' before, not even from Oswald's lunatic son."

"I know," the Chief sighed, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. Gods, he didn't have it in him to deal with all of...this. If Hiccup were still here, he wouldn't be so stressed, but without her, the stress was almost eating at him alive.

"We'll ge' out of this, we always 'ave," the blacksmith pat his friend on the back. "Once we figure out who the letter is from, things will only get easier."

"I certainly hope so, Gobber." Another long swig from his drink. "I hope so."

Months. It's been months and his daughter hasn't made a single appearance.

He suddenly wished the mead was stronger.

* * *

Astrin normally loved Snoggletog. All the colors, the villagers gathering together, laughing with all of his friends and picking out everyone's gifts. But with only a few weeks standing between him and the holiday, he wasn't exactly sure he was ready for it.

With the impromptu meeting only two weeks behind the village, the Chief' was true to his word, there were more night guards, and not a single person left the island, whether it on ship or dragon. All the riders had to stay and continue training their respective dragons and help some of the other vikings train theirs, but they didn't venture off to other islands to see what else was around. Since The Thing wasn't anytime soon, and since no tribes announced to visiting, little to no ships arrived. The only ones that did come consisted of Trader Joan and other trading ships. Every ship was searched through, with nothing amiss. Other than that, nothing changed too terribly. Some were still anxious about whatever that unknown letter held, but not too much was said about it.

People now focused their attention on Snoggletog. The decorating began, and gift-talking was whispered to one another. Astrin used to always participate with them, but now...

He just wasn't feeling _in it_ this year. For the life of him, he couldn't feel the same excitement and giddiness he normally did.

It most likely was linked to Hiccup's disappearance. Although he had still loved the holiday before the two were even friends, he had enjoyed it more the year before, when they were all friends and he served Yaknogg and they all celebrated with their recently-mated dragons. But everyone didn't seem as excited as they normally were, and Stoick wasn't out and about merrily setting up the tree or talking to everyone. If anything, it felt like most of the hype was mainly placed on the thought of knowing the dragons would lay their eggs soon, since people were worriedly attending to their dragon's every needs and were patting the reptiles bellies with wonder.

Which was exactly what Fishlegs was doing at the moment.

"Oh, my little Meatlug," he squealed, rubbing her head fondly. "See, look guys! Her stomach's bigger, she _must_ be pregnant. Oh my gods, I wonder who the dad is!"

"Do dragons even keep eggs in their stomachs?" Ruffnut asked aloud, curious gaze focused on her own dragon.

"How long do they even keep the eggs in them?" Snotlout wondered.

"How does the egg even grow around the baby?" Tuffnut's eyes widened.

"Oh my gods, I do _not_ need this," Astrin sighed. Those questions would no doubt keep him up all night at some point or another.

"When do the dragons even, you know, _meet up_ for there to be babies—"

Astrin threw a glare Tuffnut's way. The twin just shrugged, his face practically saying _look, it's a good question!_

"Come on, Astrin," Ruffnut sang, "aren't you excited for the eggs, too? I mean, image a bunch of little Stormflys flying about. Cute, right?"

"Of course I'm excited," he snapped back. "But I...I don't know. It'd be nice if Hiccup was here."

They hadn't mentioned her since the night of the meeting.

And as always, silence followed the sound of it.

"I have a question, Astrin," Fishlegs piped up after awhile. The Hofferson swore that if it had something related to that _"moving on"_ shit, he would punch something. Or someone. Whatever came first, he wasn't too picky.

"Were you and Hiccup ever a...you know...a _thing_?"

Astrin blinked, all the anger he felt only a moment before slipping away. "A _thing_? Like what?"

"Oh my gods, he's asking if you two were _dating_ ," Ruffnut deadpanned. "You know, boyfriend-girlfriend, dates, kissing—"

"I get it, Ruff," he cut her off, an unamused look on his face. "No, I never courted Hiccup."

Everyone else blinked.

" _Really?_ " Snotlout asked. "You're sure?"

Astrin glared at him. "Yes, I'm sure!" Jeez, why was it so hard to believe? After the whole fiasco with the Queen's Nest and discovering Toothless, Hiccup and Astrin did became rather close. Yes, some _things_ took place between them, matters they had talked about once and never touched on since. But they were just close friends. Really close friends. Why was it so hard to believe?

"Well, it's just that you two talked to each other all the time—" Ruffnut.

"And you always took each other's sides when we all argued—" Snotlout.

"And if we all weren't hanging out, you two just spent time together—" Tuffnut.

"And uh, didn't you two kiss once? After she woke up with only one leg?" Fishlegs.

"Hiccup and I were _friends_ , guys. Just friends," Astrin said. Sure, he kissed her...twice (but they didn't have to know of the first time, when he kissed her on the cheek following their flight on Toothless), but that was all that actually happened between them.

They all look unconvinced. "Sure, man, sure," Snotlout muttered under his breath.

Astrin didn't have the energy to hit him. All that talk accomplished was a new longing he had for his missing friend's presence.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Look, okay, I _promise_ we'll touch up on the whole Hiccstrid thing and why they aren't a thing at this point. And the plot will start heating up soon (I think). And...yeah, that's all I got.**

 **At this point, I'd like to think that about...five months have passed since Hiccup's disappearance. Maybe six. Now that I think about it, she might be gone for almost a year.**

 **Leave reviews, favorite, and follow, please!**


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